Short Interest in Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) Increases By 17.7%

Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 2,907,812 shares, a growth of 17.7% from the February 12th total of 2,470,122 shares. Currently, 5.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 968,953 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 968,953 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 5.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Kemper Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Kemper stock traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $30.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 602,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 855,183. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.72 and a 200 day moving average of $41.40. Kemper has a 1-year low of $28.41 and a 1-year high of $69.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78 and a beta of 1.16.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.60). Kemper had a return on equity of 8.02% and a net margin of 2.99%.The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kemper will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Kemper’s payout ratio is 58.45%.

Institutional Trading of Kemper

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KMPR. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Kemper by 616.7% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 946 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Kemper during the 4th quarter worth $1,724,000. Mengis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Kemper by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,813 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 5,125 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Kemper by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,969 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in Kemper by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 65,211 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,644,000 after buying an additional 24,802 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on KMPR. Citizens Jmp downgraded Kemper from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research cut Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kemper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $56.00 target price on Kemper in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $56.50.

About Kemper

Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) is a diversified insurance holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Formed through the rebranding of Unitrin in 2010, Kemper has established a nationwide presence by offering a broad array of property and casualty insurance products. The company distributes its products through independent agents, brokers and direct-to-consumer channels, serving both individual policyholders and commercial clients.

The personal insurance segment provides coverage for automobiles, homeowners, renters and umbrella lines, while the commercial business focuses on liability, workers’ compensation and specialty property solutions tailored to small and mid-sized enterprises.